Lee Hepner
@LeeHepner
anti-monopoly law and policy at @econliberties. post a lot about corporate abuse and the scam economy.
The @FTC has settled three merger challenges in the past month, while @JusticeATR pulled its first merger challenge on the eve of trial. It’s a return to a failed era of merger deregulation and permissive consolidation. Yesterday @econliberties submitted a formal comment.
BREAKING: Donald Trump says his administration is considering removing taxes on capital gains on home sales.
The irony is that, despite the sneering tone at "populists," it's this person who has failed to keep up with modern economics
Lots of really bad economics in today’s NYT op-ed on grocery store competition. Take this passage for example:
Cool cool. Delta is using a common (AI-based) pricing algorithm by a consultancy that also sets the fares for Delta's airline rivals like Virgin Atlantic and WestJet. What could possibly go wrong?
When you steal from rich people it's theft. When you steal from regular people, it's innovation.
2. Anthropic's CEO says that AI may 'cure cancer' but also eliminate entry-level jobs. Policymakers need to get a hold of that, he says. Weird he doesn't want to talk about how his firm's models are trained on massively pirated content. thebignewsletter.com/p/why-are-we-p…
“In other words, there is no real policy answer to ‘AI is going to take our jobs,’ because what that phrase really means is ‘America is treating working people like shit.’” Technology isn’t an excuse for refusing to talk about political economy. Necessary read below.
1. The discussion over 'AI taking all the jobs' has been bothering me for awhile. In 2013, Jeff Bezos was asked about bookselling. "Amazon isn't happening to book selling, the future is happening to book selling." Blaming abstract forces is what monopolists ALWAYS do.
Corporations are using your data and opaque algorithms to individually set costs — now lawmakers are demanding answers. "Prices could be dictated not by supply and demand, but by individual need," @SenRubenGallego and colleagues write on Delta's plan to use surveillance pricing.
Richie Torres won’t run for Governor. Hakeem Jeffries can’t become Speaker. Wow, local elections really do matter!
Hakeem Jeffries has reportedly told allies that if Zohran Mamdani wins, he can't become Speaker of the House. Leaders like Jeffries see this fight as existential for their control of the party: kenklippenstein.com/p/party-contro…
Hakeem Jeffries has reportedly told allies that if Zohran Mamdani wins, he can't become Speaker of the House. Leaders like Jeffries see this fight as existential for their control of the party: kenklippenstein.com/p/party-contro…
a very good sign that something billed as “stable” and the “future of money” has a CNBC ticker tracking price moves against the dollar
Update: 21 days into Made in USA month 183 days into Trump Admin $0 penalties $0 refunds 0 cases Second term is looking a lot like the first.
Join me in celebrating "Made in the USA" Month at the @FTC!
NEW: Michigan is the latest state to take on algorithmic price-fixing in the housing market with a new bill. State and local governments across the U.S. are fighting to stop this unethical rent-fixing. Check out our map to see if your state is taking action👇
Speaking of these guys, 4 new @MorePerfectUS billboards appearing around the country
These are some insane numbers on big tech CEOs. 74% of Americans disapprove of Mark Zuckerberg. 55% dislike Google's Sundar Pichai. 67% disapprove of Jeff Bezos. 44% dislike Tim Cook. 50% disapprove of Sam Altman. All are net unfavorable.
Two headlines from the past 24 hours. See the problem yet?